KARACHI, Aug 8: Senior civil judge, Central, Qazi Naeem, indicted on Wednesday a doctor accused of stealing a patient’s kidney. Dr Kashif Mateen, son of Syed Mateen Zaidi, faces charges of having stolen a kidney from Mohammed Kashif, son of Zamir Hussain Siddiqui, while the patient was undergoing surgery on May 7, 2006.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges and the court fixed Aug 25, 2007, as the date for recording the statements of the prosecution witnesses.

According to the prosecution, the plaintiff went to North Nazimabad’s Medi Complex Hospital complaining of severe abdominal pain. The clinic, which is run by the defendant, told Mr Kashif that he would have to undergo surgery to remove stones from his gall bladder. The patient was given medication and operated upon, but the doctor did not tell him that one of his kidneys had been removed.

When Mr Kashif continued suffering pain in the same area, he consulted a doctor in Papush Nagar. After conducting various tests, including an ultrasound, the doctor told Mr Kashif that he had merely one kidney and that the other one had been removed. Mr Kashif registered a case under Sections 334 and 404 of the Pakistan Penal Code with the Taimoria police station (FIR No 280/06) against Dr Mateen, who was subsequently arrested on July 8, 2006.

The court framed charges against the defendant and directed the district attorney to produce prosecution witnesses.